Naked Emperor and A Conspiracy of Silence

Asia Times ^ | Dec. 23, 2010 | Spengler

[Sicvee]

America is exceptional - utterly and absolutely exceptional - because the rest of the world depends on American guns, American money and American mediation in a way that no other country or combination of countries possibly might replace. Any other power that suffered the setbacks that America sustained during 2010 under the Barack Obama presidency would have been pushed off the top of the hill. The reason America still has diplomatic currency to spend in Asia as well as actual currency to borrow demonstrates its indispensable role: no one, least of all Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao or Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, wants America to fail.

[Skepolitic]

You should have noted that Spengler is a pseudonym taken from Oswald Spengler, the author of The Decline of the West.

[RedMDer]

Confronted with the consequences of a naked emperor in Washington, the other powers of the world can only avert their eyes and hope he will get some clothes before it is too late.

Obama is a Marxist and IMO hates the west including us and is determined to take us down.

[Billthedrill]

I do enjoy Spengler's forays into geostrategics, although he does have a few recurrent blind spots - Iraq, in this case. The "nation-building" there succeeded beyond any theorist's expectations, but what we got was precisely what many of us foresaw from the outset - a solution that satisfied no one for purity. Frankly I'm amazed that it's still staggering along. But is is (1) not under the demonstrably aggressive and unstable Saddam, nor (2) under the sway of Iran. The notion that the Shi'ites there are puppets of Iran is not altogether an accurate one - in the view of the Iraqi clergy, the opposite is rightfully true. Iraq is a Muslim state but not an Islamist state, which is, after all, a considerable improvement over the direction things were going. How it proceeds from here requires a crystal ball, but to argue that the effort was useless is, I think, a little premature.

But Spengler is correct in the estimation that a sudden perceptible weakness on the part of Washington has allowed the very successful (and very expensive) campaign of Iranian Islamist subversion to flourish once again in Lebanon and nearby areas. There was a moment when the world beheld an American army poised to enter Syria and whether that would have been a geostrategic coup or a bridge too far is an academic matter now. The Syrians, however, behave as if they're the happiest people on the planet that 0bama is in office, and they ought to be.

Another thing we knew from the outset was that 0bama and his chosen staff were pathetically inexperienced in matters of foreign policy. Internationalists all, arrogant, idealistic, and too feckless to see that nationalists such as Putin were eating their lunch and laughing at them, which he continues to do. That will not improve with the replacement of the hideously miscast Hillary Clinton. This administration simply cannot do foreign policy. It isn't a matter of economic weakness, although that hurts, it isn't a matter of moral or political capital, it's simply that those people don't know what the hell they're doing and are enabled in their delusion by the impossibly partisan media, who will report faithfully that 0bama has made us loved once more by the people who proceed to demonstrate it by trying to kill us. This stupidity can't be fixed, it can only be swept aside, and it won't be going easily.

Nevertheless, the hegemon is stepping down, for its own good if not for the world at large's. That was probably going to happen anyway but 0bama has managed to accelerate it dangerously in pursuit of a personality cult, and people who trusted us are inevitably going to get hurt. I remarked some time ago that people living in a Golden Age seldom recognize it until it's gone.

Those who wanted an end to US hegemony will get what they wished for. But they won't like it.

It is, as Spengler remarked, headed toward a regional Great Powers setup, and everyone whose ambition is to be one of those - Iran, North Korea, Venezuela - will not care to recall what happened to the principals when that fell apart in 1914. We're still picking up the pieces. One of those, at least, has had enough of hegemony, but whether the tiger can be dismounted without a bloodbath ensuing remains to be seen.

[Secret Agent Man]

It’s not a conspiracy, they actually believe he’s got clothes on, too.

[Sicvee]

I’m glad I posted this. I was trolling for some intelligent commentary and yours does the job.

[Publius]

...it's simply that those people don't know what the hell they're doing and are enabled in their delusion by the impossibly partisan media, who will report faithfully that 0bama has made us loved once more by the people who proceed to demonstrate it by trying to kill us.

Damn, you're good! Here is the Washington Post article you predicted, in which every word is a lie. In fact, every comma and period is a lie.

[MARTIAL MONK]

Ping to see if Mr. Goldman has a response. I think that this is what he looks for here.

[okie01]

Spengler usually begets intelligent commentary on this board.

He is also known to respond to it.

Personally, I found Spengler's article excruciatingly depressing. Seemingly every day, we see this country's once-immense moral, military and financial capital diminished -- both domestically and internationally.

And it's being done intentionally -- when it isn't being done incompetently.

It's an altogether infuriating -- even criminal -- waste of power, good will, wealth and resources.

We simply can't afford to let this run much longer. The entire world is going to suffer for it. Not to mention...us.

[Billthedrill]

Oh, dear, that one is an embarrassment. Evidently 0bama’s magnificent show of strength in the Korea imbroglio was a phone call expressing concern. Ignatius was impressed. The Chinese are likely hurting themselves laughing.

[Billthedrill]

I hope he does. I admire Mr. Goldman’s abilities as a strategic thinker very much.

[okie01]

Ignatius left enough drool on the floor with that one to warrant a mop.

You'd think somebody on the left would be embarrassed for him.

[RoadTest]

I like this article. It’s a bright floodlight swung around onto every part of the world that matters in the total picture.